40
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُۥ وَبَلَغَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةًۭ قَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَىَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَـٰلِحًۭا تَرْضَىٰهُ وَأَصْلِحْ لِى فِى ذُرِّيَّتِىٓ ۖ إِنِّى تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّى مِنَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ
“….And when he is grown to full maturity and reaches the age of forty, he prays: “My Lord, grant me the power that I may give thanks for the bounty that You have bestowed upon me and my parents, and that I may do righteous deeds that would please You, and also make my descendants righteous. I repent to You, and I am one of those who surrender themselves to You.”
[Surah Al-Ahkaf/The Dunes, Verse 15]
Reflections:
This comprehensive supplication begins with the affirmation and gratitude for the blessings that have allowed us to reach the age of maturity, which is at age 40.
This is followed by an acknowledgement of the role of the parents, without whose existence, we wouldn’t be here.
Then there is the recognition that we are deficient in our practice and therefore, we are asking for the ability to perform righteous deeds with the correct intention that are pleasing to the Creator.
After that, we beseech our Lord for the righteousness of our descendants, as the righteousness of the offspring should be every Muslim parent’s primary concern, rather than the pursuit of the illusions of the duniya (the lowly world).
Lastly, we seek repentance and forgiveness for all our shortcomings and reaffirm our surrender to the Lord Who created us and Who took a covenant from us in the realm of the souls.
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنۢ بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَآ ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا۟ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَـٰذَا غَـٰفِلِينَ
“[O Prophet], when your Lord took out the offspring from the loins of the Children of Adam and made them bear witness about themselves, He said, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ and they replied, ‘Yes, we bear witness.’ So you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘We were not aware of this.’”
[Surah Al-A'raf/The Heights, Verse 172]And Allah and the Messenger know Best
